See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy CHRIS POLLARD, NEWS REPORTER Published: 18:02 BST, 15 June 2026 | Updated: 03:17 BST, 16 June 2026
French rescuers used a surfboard to help save migrants who got into trouble trying to cross the Channel on Monday.The group of around 40 men and children were attempting to wade out to an inflatable off the coast of Calais.Some quickly became submerged and needed assistance from the French fire service and a lifeboat.Police used pepper spray to corral the group, while some had to be pursued in vehicles after they fled. The dinghy was forced to leave without picking up anyone and a number of migrants were arrested. The scene came as it emerged French authorities intercepted almost two-thirds of migrant boats bound for the UK last month.Over the last seven days there have been no successful small boat journeys across the Channel, and overall crossings are down 40 per cent year on year.A total of 9,142 migrants have arrived so far this year compared with 15,212 in the same period last year.However, people smugglers have gotten wise to police crackdowns and devised new methods of transporting migrants.In their so-called 'taxi boat' scheme, migrants wade or swim out into the sea and then board a boat sent from further down the coast with just a driver on board. This avoids the chaos associated with launching over-burdened boats directly from the beach and makes them harder to catch. Rescuers used a surf board to reach migrants attempting to board a small boat to Britain The migrants, including children, had risked their lives by swimming out to an overcrowded inflatable French officials have intercepted almost two-thirds of migrants crossings over the last month, and numbers are down 40 per cent year on year A group of men, including two children were detained after being brought ashoreAnd despite a £660million deal with the UK Government to increase beach patrols, French law prohibits the authorities from tackling boats with more than 20 people on board.Alp Mehmet, chairman of charity Migration Watch UK, said French authorities have appeared to lack the motivation needed to prevent crossings.'We have given the French around three-quarters of a billion pounds since 2014/15 to stop illegal migrants,' he said. 'We deserve a refund.'Alex Norris, minister for border security and asylum, said: 'Our work with France is cracking down on small boat launches and stopping the criminal smuggling gangs in their tracks.'Border security commander Charlie Eastaugh, of the Home Office Small Boats Command, said: 'Thanks to the excellent co-operation between the UK and France, for the first time ever French law enforcement officers are carrying out operations against small boats at sea.'Last week, Sudanese asylum seeker Alnour Mohamed Ali, 26, was jailed for two years and three months after being caught in charge of a dangerously overcrowded small boat bound for Britain.Shocking drone footage seen in court showed French authorities handing out life jackets to the migrants on board the boat but failing to intervene.
